The Toronto Raptors are on a roll as they return home Monday night to face the Charlotte Hornets.
The Raptors completed a 4-1 road trip Saturday with a 129-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers and have won seven of their past eight overall.
Toronto is three games above .500 for the first time since Feb. 1, 2022.
“I’m really satisfied with winning four out of five on this road trip,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “I think we played some really, really good basketball and it’s still part of the process. I still believe there are areas for us to continue improving and get better.”
The Hornets have been struggling. They lost their second in a row Saturday, 109-96 to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder and have dropped five of six.
Charlotte played a solid first half and trailed by three.
“Then, in the second half, sometimes that defensive intensity and physicality can wear you down a little bit,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “I definitely thought the ball movement in the second half just wasn’t as good, some of our rim reads weren’t as good.”
The Hornets have lost nine straight road games to the Raptors, including two in Tampa during the 2020-21 season. Toronto won two of three from the Hornets overall last season.
The Raptors got 22 points each from RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl against the Pacers.
Scottie Barnes added 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also had a block and a steal for the ninth consecutive game, matching Vince Carter’s team record.
Poeltl added nine rebounds and also had a block and a steal on Saturday.
“Obviously, there’s still things we want to improve on,” Poeltl said. “We are by no means perfect, but what I give ourselves a lot of credit for is the way we’re figuring out games. We might not have the best start to games, we might make some mistakes early on, but we’ve always figured out, at least over these last games, a way to respond to whatever the other team is throwing at us.”
Brandon Ingram continued to be a consistent scorer for Toronto with 19 points at Indianapolis.
Miles Bridges has been solid for the Hornets and led the team with 15 points against the Thunder after scoring 32 against the Bucks. He also has been guarding some of the opponents’ top players.
“I’ve seen a ton of really good things from Miles over the last couple games,” Lee said. “No. 1 defensively, he’s taken on a lot of different match-ups, and he’s embraced it and he’s wanting it. … Offensively, I see him playing a little bit more composed, not trying to force too many things.”
Hornets guard LaMelo Ball is expected to play Monday after sitting out Saturday. He missed five games with a right ankle impingement before returning on Friday in a 147-134 overtime loss to the host Milwaukee Bucks. He had 16 points and 10 assists in 27 minutes but did not play in the overtime. His injury history will dictate careful handling on his return from injury.
“Our performance staff and player-development group has done a good job of developing a plan that’s going to help maximize him,” Lee said. “So, minutes going forward for a while, we have to be mindful of putting him in the best position to be available for as many games as possible.”
